PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DAY: Seminar – 10 June – Olga Shaglanova

PLEASE NOTE:
DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO:

WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE

4.30–6.00 Mond Building Seminar Room

Olga Shaglanova

Ethnographic museum of Transbaikal peoples, Buryatia, Russia

Chinese Labour Migrants in Buryatia: Between Legality and Illegality

In recent years the regional authority of the Republic of Buryatia has been actively developing a comprehensive cooperation with the Northern provinces of China. However, while cooperation in educational and cultural spheres have a dynamic character and visible outcomes, economic collaborations still remain at the level of agreements and exchange of experiences. While regional officials on both sides of the Russian-Chinese border are discussing the future economic projects in the framework of legal laws and official treaties Chinese business in Buryatia operates according to semi-official rules and illegal schemes. The Chinese mainly are involved in such sectors of the Buryat economy as investment and construction business; services sector. For the partners of semi-legal business an important criterion of success is trust. The trust-based dialogue allows the parties to determine their roles and responsibilities to satisfy mutual business interests. The scheme of such personal relations is largely contrary to state laws, however it can coexist invisibly together with the official system of economic relations. This research illustrates that those Chinese who have an illegal status are more likely than official labour migrants to become trustful and adaptive in the host community and to contribute to mutual understanding and fruitful collaboration due to the greater involvement in local life.